Pasta Recipes
Pasta Crust
A few months ago, I started experimenting with “crusts” made from pasta. I tried various binder combinations of eggs, cheese, milk, and olive oil until I hit on this version. We love it. The concept is fun, the taste is delicious, and the crust can be a base for all sorts of toppings. While I…
Balsamic Pesto Tomato Sauce
The taste of marinara sauce made with fresh tomatoes is divine. Finding the time to peel and seed the required tomatoes can be enough to make you buy a jar! I decided to try a new approach which eliminated these tedious steps. The first time I made this, I turned around and bought more tomatoes…
Gorgonzola Noodles
As I was returning from my older son’s cross country meet just in time to run my younger son to swim practice, there was not a whole lot of time for cooking and no leftovers to speak of. As I reached for the eggs–a favorite quick dinner in our house–I spotted a jar of leftover…
Summer Tomato and Leek Sauce
A simple, summer sauce is the perfect way to enjoy a bounty of vine-ripened tomatoes and works beautifully as a light pasta or pizza sauce or as a flavorful topping for chicken or fish. My original plan for this sauce was to use red onion, until I saw some baby leeks at market. Leeks provide…
BLT Ranch Pasta Salad
Classic flavors come together with ease in this BLT pasta salad that’s equally perfect for family meals, packed lunches, and casual entertaining. Add grilled or rotisserie chicken for a well-rounded meal. To celebrate my older son’s 14th birthday, we had a group of his friends over for a cookout. He chose hamburgers and hot…
Round Two Pasta
This pasta is so delicious and beyond easy. It is the perfect example of how you can reinvent leftovers into something brand new. I find that having a homemade sauce or dressing on hand helps me create healthy, flavorful meals in a snap. It is also a great reason to always grill extra chicken, flank…
Pasta with Fava Beans, Greens & Pancetta
This wholesome pasta dish was inspired by two great finds: fresh fava beans and a green I had never before heard of–pak choy. Upon further research, the name pak choy seems to be used interchangeably with boy choy. However, what I bought (pictured below) was seemingly the shoot of the bok choy–a baby, baby bok…
Black Bean Spaghetti Stir Fry
Have you ever heard of black bean spaghetti? My sister-in-law noticed it last year and picked up a package for me, knowing I’d be intrigued. I had no expectations and was dubious that the kids–or even the parents!–would like it. To my surprise, it was a hit all around and everyone looks forward to this…
Beef Vermicelli Lettuce Wraps
This dish has it all…crunchy veggies, savory protein, satisfying noodles, and a flavorful sauce which provides exceptional flavor. Of course, there’s the fun factor, too: Roll it all up in a big lettuce leaf and grab a napkin. A thin, vermicelli rice noodle is traditional in this type of recipe. Sometimes, I mix it up…
Basic Marinara
Years ago, I was inspired by a recipe in Cooking Light magazine that offered a basic marinara sauce and suggestions on how to use the sauce well beyond spaghetti. I absolutely love a recipe I can stretch into several meals, and I often cook that way. Many nights I wouldn’t get dinner on the table…
Baked Fusilli with Asiago
This is the last–for a little while, anyway–in my string of recipes using Basic Marinara Sauce. (Another delicious and easy dinner using a portion of this sauce is Sausage, Pepper and 2-Cheese Pizza.) The following baked pasta dish is unique in that the meat does not have to be sauteed prior to mixing with the pasta. The…
